


This Is Business.

by LisaVanDerMolen



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Boss and employee relationship, Business, F/M, Funny, M/M, Medicine, Sad, broken bucky and Steve, kind of like a rom com not really, kind of slow burn, natasha head of I.T, past Peggy and Steve
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-01-15 14:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12322833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LisaVanDerMolen/pseuds/LisaVanDerMolen
Summary: Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes have it going on, or do they now? Seen as the hottest, richest eligible bachelors, their lives should be easy. But count in that they're CEO's to the biggest companies in America.Bucky Barnes is lost without his trusted assistant, it's as simple as that. Around the busiest time of the year for Bucky she is suddenly pulled away for a family tragedy. How is he supposed to carry out this new project and why is his new assistant struggling with the printer?Steve Rogers has been struggling to cope with his past. On top of that the search to the cure of Dementia is slowly taking a toll on him. And who is the head of I.T that isn't afraid to speak her mind and act out of boundaries if it means that she'll get it done?





	1. A Glimpse Of The Past

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah this story is one of your cheesy romcoms. But hey, why not. I tried to edit it to my best ability. And I'm so sorry for...you'll figure it out.

He walked through the building with a smirk plastered on his face as his footsteps boomed through the hall. His black suit with a light blue undershirt and a light blue/grey striped tie made the blue come out of his eyes. His hair was combed to the side making the girls gasp as he walked past them. “Good morning mister Barnes,” a pretty blonde said as he passed her.

“Good morning, sugar,” he replied politely as he passed her, giving her a grin that made her blush, already knowing what the girls would be talking about today at lunch.

Before she could say anything else to him his assistant came out of the elevator, the scowl she directed towards the girl made her hurry along, the blush only increasing. “Bucky, I'm asking you just one morning without all this flirting nonsense,” his assistant said a few strands of hair framing her face as she led him to his office.

“Hope, lighten up!” He tried as she shook her head.

“I have been your assistant for over six years,” he smiled a lopsided smile,”and so far every morning I'm telling you the same thing over and over again.” Her short hair was bobbing with every step she took. Her purple pencil skirt was matched with a black blazer and a white undershirt. Her wasp necklace was hidden from his view but he knew it was there, as he was the first one to know about it. She had went on and on for hours how Scott had given it to her.

Her pointy heels clicked the whole way to his office, coaxing him slowly into the routine of the day. It was peak season for Barnes.Co, their newest mobile devices were put on display, and the army had accepted to hear about their newest prosthetics. It would be one heck of a morning for James Buchanan Barnes, better known as Bucky, ceo of Barnes.Co.

Barnes.Co was a company found by Bucky’s father and was known to the public as the company that specialized in bringing them new types of technology. However Barnes.Co was so much more than just a company that brought the world computers, phones, and tablets, it was a company which helped people get a second chance. They had started to experiment with prosthetics after Bucky had found out how many people suffered because they couldn't afford good prosthetics, that could help them make their daily lives easier.

Right now they were in the process of getting their prosthetics known to the general public and making it available to them for an affordable price. Bucky was so excited for this as he worked most of his career for this event.

Hope and he reached his office as she opened the door for him,”I need your signature for document a and c, do not sign b,” he sat down in his chair as she pulled out two booklets of paper out of her binder and put them in front her, she got the pen of out her hidden pocket in her blazer. She clicked it on and gave it to him.

“The morning hasn't started yet and I'm already expected to read over three hundred pages?” Bucky smiled trying to hide how much he dreaded the task in front of him.

Hope smiled while she started to head towards her desk in the next room,”Repeat what I just said.”

“Just sign A and C, do not sign-- _oh_.”

“Yes oh,” she smiled as she closed the door behind her.

He looked down at the booklets and smiled, it would be a long day today.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mister Rogers, I need your signature to go along with the…,” Darcy’s voice slowly faded out as he saw _her_ moving towards him.

“Tsk tsk Steve, what will I do with you?” Amusement shone through her eyes as she shook her head, making her brunette curls bounce. “First you spend all your time running in a very uncivilized manner, I know you like speed but at least try to run the same pace as Sam, so that he can keep up with you. Secondly you aren't eating, and now you aren't listening to Darcy. Do you need to get tasered Steven?” She asked her nose starting to crinkle when she bursted into laughter.

He wanted nothing more but to take her into his arms as the sunlight illuminated her hair. Appearing around her like a halo.

“Steve?!”

Darcy’s voice started to bring him back to the present,”Yes, miss Lewis?”

“Cut the crap! My name is Darcy and did you even hear a single word I just said to you?” Her nose twitched as she spun around in her chair.

“My bad, Darcy, and yes I heard what you said,” he got a pen out of his drawer and signed the document.

“Steve are you okay?” The concern was laced through her voice as she looked at him, her usual playfulness replaced with a deep frown.

“I'm fine, just tired from this morning's workout,” he tried to (and failed miserably) lie.

She looked at him, her eyebrow raised,”Well I don't want you to turn up dead in an alley, And I really can't risk a demon possession over six credits.”

He looked at her before bursting into laughter,”Okay Darcy, I promise I won't end up dead in an alley, or possess you for that matter.”

She smiled reaching for the file in his hand before exiting his office. Scott, his assistant entered as Darcy left. “Cap, Bucky is asking if you're up for lunch.”

Lunch. He had totally forgotten he had made plans with Bucky,”Yeah tell him that I'll meet him there.”

“Oki,” Scott turned around and went to his desk, he probably had already sent the text to Buck.

Steve closed his eyes and put his head up, facing the ceiling, he smelled a distinct smell of roses. Roses mixed with a hint of musk and dirt, he could faintly smell the underlying smell of fresh hard crispy apples.

“Steve, don't you dare be late,” her voice woke him up as he saw her leaning against his window. “I'll teach how to…”

“Cap, it's time to go,” Scott’s voice sounded over his intercom, making her disappear.

He pressed the button,”Thank you for reminding me Scott.”

“No problem, that's my job, you know as your...assistant,” Scott trailed off lamely. “Assisting you is my, whatever just enjoy your lunch and be back by one thirty.”

“That will do, once again thank you Scott.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bucky drove out of the building’s garage when he was suddenly overcome with the feeling of being watched. His heart started to race as he looked at the backseat of his car.

“The stories we'll tell our children, are one of kind.” He heard distant voices, the crackling of campfire and the smell of a whisky flask being passed around. “Amen to that.”

The heat suddenly intensified and before Bucky knew what was going on his phone rang. He shook his head and picked it up,”Hello.”

“Hello, Bucky?”

“Yes punk, who else?”

“I'd hoped for a smarter human being.”

“Sucks to be you than, cause you're stuck with me.”

“I'm gonna ignore you just said that. Where are you?”

“I'm just pulling out of the building.”

“You're on your phone while calling me?!”

“Relax Steve, it's on speaker. So what's the stitch?”

“Just making sure that you're on your way.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

“Yup, see you.”

Today was the one of the worst day in Steve and Bucky’s existence. “Barnes, I'm flattered I caught you thinking about me like that,” a familiar British accented voice sounded.

“Don't flatter yourself too much hun, I admire your ability to make little Steve happy.”

“Well you're certainly not the only one _sergeant_ James.”

His mind was like a song on replay replaying the same moment over and over again, so that it got stuck in his head. Today isn't the day to be fazed Buck, he reminded himself as he sped to the restaurant he was supposed to meet Steve.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steve saw Bucky pull up and hand his car keys to the valet. “He's late to every occasion isn't he?” He turned his head and saw _her_ sitting next to him, she wore a tight red dress. That didn't show much but was so elegant it spoke from miles away. Her hair was down and there were a few pins here and there. She wore Crimson red lipstick as he smelled the familiar smell once again.

“Hiya punk,” Bucky greeted him before sitting opposite from him.

“Hi Bucky,” Steve said softly as he still saw her sitting next to him.

“Steven for your information I do not ‘fondue’...”

“Steve, steve?!” Bucky waved his hand before Steve’s eyes.

His eyes were still a little glazed as he looked at Bucky,”Yeah?” His voice sounded very hoarse as if he hadn't used it in a while.

“I asked what you wanted,” Bucky said slowly. “You look like you've seen a ghost, wanna talk about it?”

“I want tea, and a pumpkin pie. That will be all.” He ended his sentence as he stared out of the window.

“Steve, darling. You need to talk to somebody, this can't go on. _I'm no longer here_.”

“Did you talk to your therapist?” Bucky's voice brought him back out of his thoughts.

“Jean is on her honeymoon with Scott right now, and I'm not comfortable talking to anybody else but Jean.” He said as if it was the most logical thing ever.

“That is some flawed logic right there,” Bucky said slowly as if expecting him to break down.

“It isn't like I'm the only one who has been avoiding his therapist,” he retorted.

Bucky's eyes widened as his mouth opened a bit,”That is not fair Steve, and you know it.”

The look on Bucky’s face made Steve want to apologize when the waiter interrupted and put their food on the table. When she left he looked at the food and noticed two burgers with sides of fries.

“I know you haven't been eating, so now you have to, as I bought it for you. You can still have your pie and tea.”

He slowly brought the tea over to him and sipped it. It slightly burned his tongue but he drank through it,”Thank you Bucky.”

“How's the company?” Bucky asked referring to Rogers.Intl.

Rogers.Intl was a company started by Sarah Rogers, also known as Steve’s mother. The company specialized in medicine and mechanical medical treatment, they were currently trying to get permission to start finding a cure for early Dementia which could hopefully lead up to a cure for Alzheimer's. Basically Rogers.Intl was a big lab that acted like an all day office, if that made sense.

“We're close with the permission now, if my calculations are right we should be getting it by the end of this month,” he slowly took a bite out of his burger and saw Bucky smile a bit. “How's your company doing?”

“The people are excited for the new winter collection to come out, the WPhone 8 is expected to sell well along with the XYPhone, so far people are preferring Plum over any of the other brands.”

“I still can't believe you managed to get everybody on board of naming your brand Plum,” Steve shook his head as he took another bite from his burger.

“Well it turns out fruit names do quite well in the technology business,” Bucky laughed.

“How did we become friends?” Steve laughed. And suddenly it felt like the old days when they weren't so broken that even simple breathing hurt.

 

 

 

 

 


	2. A Hectic Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I know I've been telling since last week I was going to post this chapter, but then school came in my way. I made Monday my update date, so you can expect a new chapter every Monday. And if I'm feeling extra inspirational there might be two chapters, however that doesn't seem likely, for a while as this chapter alone took me three days to write and two days to finish editing.

“Hello you're speaking with the prosthetics department of Barnes.Co, how can I help you?”

“I was wondering if--,” even though Wanda didn't love her job she liked the daily aspect of being able to talk to her colleagues, and help create a society where people could afford prosthetics.

However moments like these bugged Wanda to death, the way people would call the prosthetics department and just hang up. First off that's rude, secondly she really didn't to hear the moans of pleasure. Just because she decided to stay a virgin until after she found the right man didn't mean she didn't wonder what it felt like.

Her friend Natasha had told her all about it, so did Pepper. Even though it was only if Pepper was really hammered. Another thing about Wanda, she didn't drink. Her reason for this,’I can't afford to lose anymore brain cells, I'm on limited supply already and they're running out quickly.’

The thing about Wanda was that she wasn't dumb or anything, she just lacked a great deal of common sense. She graduated high school with flying colors and had a 4.0 GPA. The same with college where she majored in health sciences, she had applied for med school when tragedy had struck her family.

So long story short Wanda went from becoming a doctor to a receptionist at a technology company. Pretty ironic if you ask her. Her life was kind of like an episode of The Office, only less exciting and more...now she came to think of it, it was nothing like The Office. It was more like...The Boring Life of Wanda, starring Wanda Maximoff.

Just when she cut the phone, she heard the fax machine printing of a fax. No, I don't want to get up, she thought as her mood immediately became worse than it already was. She stood up from her comfy office chair and stretched her legs. She heard a few cracks and pops here and there when she started to walk towards the fax machine. Her head tilted slightly to the right as she saw the document that was sent.

**Urgent: Wanda Maximoff  
Do not drink from you coffee, I repeat no coffee, you might get--**

**  
Die…**

She was going to kill Natasha!

Wanda was one thing for sure and that was patient but today she had already answered ten prank calls, five calls asking if she was up to ‘serve’ people and hot steamy love making calls. On top of that she got a fax from Natasha. A fax that made her get up from her desk.

Okay she might be over exaggerating a bit, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't have the right to be angry.

And Natasha knows damn well she doesn't like coffee, she can't handle the bitterness of it. Like she only orders coffee because it tastes so good with whipping cream and chocolate sauce. Wanda loved chocolate but not as much a Natasha. Natasha needed at least one bar to function along with her coffee. She still didn't get how Natasha was able to drink dark coffee with no sugar nor cream, like how?

“Wanda!” She heard a voice call out for her.

“Yes, I'll be right there.”

Wanda slowly walked to the her desk as she saw Hope, her boss’ assistant stand there. She was impatiently tapping her foot, making Wanda more nervous than she already was. Hope was the perfect employee, as she completed everything and anything before it could stack up. Without her mister Barnes and pretty much the whole building would fail.

Her hands had gotten sweaty as she finally came to a stop in front of Hope. Hoping that Hope wouldn't notice, Wanda wiped her clammy hands to her dress.

“What can I do for you miss Van Dyne?” Wanda kept her voice as steady as possible, her thick accent slightly making her voice an octave lower.

“Well miss Maximoff, I need you to fax document 13290a and f to Steve Rogers. After that I expect you to fax the documents through to Stark Industries, understood?”

“Yes miss Van Dyne, will that be all?”

“Yes that will be all Wanda,” Hope smiled at Wanda once she placed the documents on Wanda's desk. Her heels clicked on the floor all the way to the elevator.

‘Time to be productive Wanda,’ Wanda sourly thought to herself.

* * *

  
Natasha was bored to death. And right now she regretted not taking the position at Stark Industries, at least they had a crazy adventure every single day. Natasha had once heard a story where Tony Stark had taken every single employee to eat shawarma after they had managed to win ‘do not laugh or grin challenge’.

It was annoying the way her boss was very not not like able. James Buchanan Barnes had it all, looks, personality, intelligence and definitely his charm that drew people right into him.

Natasha sadly was one of those fan girls, even though she didn't look nor acted like them. The swooning was done in all secret. Maybe it was the way he respected her as his equal.

She was the head of I.T and therefor very involved with the discussions on how the new Plum products were supposed to look like and what kind of technology they would have.

Natasha enjoyed her job as it gave her the possibility to get free devices and turn faces all around the world. It was funny to see the way people had looked at her when she had told them she was one of the main mega minds behind their technology.

Right now she was having slow connection or better known as block. She was stuck trying to connect the wires without the phone blowing up any minute or day. Also the new WOS 8 needed some touching up as it made the emoji’s look very weird.

So the kill her boredom she had send her friend Wanda a fax. And now she had waited approximately two hours and still no reply. Usually it took Wanda fifteen to thirty minutes to get her a decent reply back.

And Natasha was still waiting. She had put her feet atop of her desk and was leaning back as she just scrolled through her phone. She had twenty two unread emails and two text messages, both were from Clint. He was asking if she could babysit tonight.

She loved his kids to death but no. Not again, this would be the fourth time in a row and she needed to come up with a plan to fix the new update to the new Plum products. The showcase was just a month from now. During the last three years Natasha would've been in the not care stage once she had installed the WOS, however this year somebody had messed up the coding for the update and therefore messed everything up.

She desperately needed coffee, and chocolate. She glanced at the digital clock hanging from the light grey wall. It read 15:28, in a flashing red manner. Maybe God wants me to take a coffee break, Natasha thought as she got up and left her office.

She walked with her back and neck straight to the break room and saw that there was no coffee left. Damn it. When she walked over to the machine she heard ragged breathing coming from behind her.

“Hgrhhh,” the hairs on her neck stood up as the breathing intensified.

“What do you want Roy?” She asked annoyed as he started to giggle.

“How'd you know it was me?” The ginger head scrunched his nose as he went with his thumb across his lower lip.

Natasha gave him a death stare,”Common sense.”

“Okay darling, can you make me one coffee, two sugars and no cream.” Roy walked to the other room before Natasha had a chance to respond. It was clear that Roy was dead serious.

“What?!” Natasha asked herself aloud. As her eyes fixed upon the coffee machine and the empty jug. Suddenly an idea formed in her head, Mr.Sexist would get what was coming to him. And the office needed a new coffee machine desperately anyways.

* * *

  
It took Wanda approximately one hour and fifteen minutes to fax everything. And by the end of it she was so tired, like really tired. It usually took Wanda mere minutes to fax documents, however today the fax machine had decided to break down.

The mechanic wouldn't be here until five and she couldn't afford that, so she had to run all the way to the fifth floor because with her luck Hope would be in the elevator. And she really couldn't afford to sink in her eyes.

So Wanda ran, well more fast walked her way to the fifth floor using the stairs, her floor was fifteen. She has to go down a lot of stairs with heels that hurt her feet. Then she has to go back up on all those stairs, without anybody seeing her.

However when Wanda has finally reached the bottom of those never ending stairs and she was on the fifth floor, she saw a sign that read fax machines moved to the tenth floor.

Well she had to go all the way up to the tenth floor to discover that those fax machines were out of ink. Some curses here and there and she finally let go of her pride and went to the front desk at the tenth floor. She asked the girl with the gray striped hair if she could fax the documents.

Which had taken forever since the girl was new, but she got it done and Wanda was grateful for that.

She walked to the elevator and noticed that it was already four o'clock. “Oh god,” she muttered softly to herself as she kept on pushing the button.

She was late. Late with her reply to Natasha, if she didn't reply soon Natasha might send a very detailed text message that Wanda would have a very hard time forgetting.

It was kind of funny the way Natasha and her still sended each other faxes, it had started as a joke but gradually over time became a habit. Something fun to kill the time with.

Usually Wanda would send lame positive one liners but today she was going to be adventurous.

**The only time I set the bar low is for limbo. You know what I don't need? A permit cuz I do what I want. One time my refrigerator broke down. I didn't know what to do, so I just moved. I know you might be very confused just call me asap as possible, you ignorant slut.**

**Don't do drugs! Peace out!**

She read it over and smiled, okay Natasha was really gonna enjoy this one. Wanda usually didn't really like taking risks but when she did take them she felt excited, like she could handle anything.

She grabbed the documents Hope had given her and headed for the the twenty second floor, with the lift this time. On her way she would have to stop at the eighteenth floor to send the fax to Natasha, she would do that before she gave everything back to Hope.

* * *

  
Natasha looked satisfiedly at her work as she heard Roy's footsteps. She turned around when he looked at her as he came in. “Where's my coffee?”

“Oh, you wanted coffee?” Natasha asked innocently fluttering her eyelashes at him. He nodded as she proceeded to take a long sip from her mug. “Oh, it seems like I took the last coffee available, my bad.”

“Well can't you make more?” Roy asked tapping his foot impatiently as he eyed Natasha’s coffee mug.

“Nope, seems like somebody broke the coffee machine.” Natasha took another sip,“And quite violently, it seems,” Natasha added as she turned away to go to her office Roy’s curses sounding like music to her ears.

She laughed aloud and shook her head as she took another sip of her coffee. She just had to take a left and she would be at her office. Her hips swayed side to side as she heard a few girls giggling behind her, which could mean two things: either her boss was here or she had something on her.

As she turned around she found out that it was the former. Mister Barnes walked up towards her with so much ease it kind of made her want to giggle like the other girls.

He flashed her a smile and in that moment she could feel a smile bubbling up deep inside of her. “Good afternoon mister Barnes,” Natasha smiled taking another sip from her mug.

“Miss Romanoff, I would really like to wish you a good afternoon. However it seems like there might be a problem,” he said apologetically putting his hands in his pockets. “If you would be so kind to follow me.”

He lead the way to the elevator as they went into it silently her coffee slowly becoming more colder the more minutes passed by. I should've waited until he went home before I trashed the machine, she thought bitterly a scowl on her face.

  
“Okay Wanda because your fax numbers digits were slightly off, I fixed it for you don't worry but yeah I was able to send the document to the boss.”

“You did what?” Wanda asked her eyes widened as she realized what had just been said to her.

“Yeah the document you just gave me, I faxed it to mister Barnes, only you had the number wrong so I fixed.”

No...no..no. Not the boss oh god, Hope was with the boss. I-- God the boss could fire her, she needed this job really badly. “You saved me, but gotta go.” Wanda walked away as fast as she could, after she had taken the letter back and almost broke into a sprint once she noticed that the elevator doors were open.

She quickly pushed the closing button as the elevator took ten million years to close the door, her heart was racing and the clock was ticking, she had to get that letter before her boss or even worse Hope had a chance to read it.

Wanda sprinted out of the elevator once the door opened and saw mister Barnes office open, the fax lying there face down untouched, she only needed to grab it and head out. She went to grab it when she heard a voice.

* * *

  
“Wanda?”

Natasha knew two things about her friend, one she didn't like heights which was pretty ironic since she worked in one of the highest building in America. Secondly she would never ever enter the boss’ office even if the door was open. So imagine Natasha's surprise when she saw Wanda grabbing a document from the fax.

Wanda dropped everything in her hands, her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly, as if she was suppressing a scream. “Yes,” she said turning around still looking startled.

“Miss Maximoff,” mister Barnes voice interrupted as he read Wanda's name tag,”May I ask what you're doing in my office?”

Oh shit, Wanda is in trouble.

* * *

  
Oh shit. Oh god, her boss stood in front of her asking what she was doing in his office. Oh god and Natasha is with him. Non no no she was screwed so screwed.

“Uhm--the door was open and I was here to see Hope but she wasn't here, but then the fax came and I was about to pick it up because I had faxed a document earlier--to check--to check if my fax worked,” she said trying really hard to keep eye contact even though a blush slowly started to rise on her cheeks.

“What document did you proof fax to us?” Mister Barnes smooth voice asked as his grey bluish eyes bore into her green ones.

Wanda lowered her gaze to the booklet of documents on the ground all spread out as she bended down to get them all sorted and piled up,“Well--uhm--it was document 207456b and I grabbed it but dropped it while you guys...came in.”

“That's alright then, what about that document behind you?” He asked as he pointed at her letter.

“I don't know sir, do you want me to give it to you?” She asked as she saw him nod. Oh god she was screwed so screwed. She slowly got up and put the documents that she had already managed to collect in a pile on mister Barnes desk. She dusted off her dress even though there was nothing on it and turned around to get _her_ letter. She hesitantly picked it up and handed it to her boss.

Mister Barnes eyes widened as he read it and once he finished he broke into laughter,”Miss Maximoff do you know who send this?” He managed to say between laughters as Natasha looked at him the confusion clearly written on her face.

“Mister Barnes are you okay?” She asked hesitantly.

“Yeah just read this aloud for me please,” he laughed clearly finding Wanda's letter hilarious. ‘I should've sent a text,’ Wanda thought bitterly.

Natasha started to read the letter but broke down laughing as well. A glint in her eyes showing Wanda that she knew. Wanda was really really close to breaking down into tears as she saw Hope enter the office.

“What's going on here?” She asked her nose scrunched as she saw the mess of papers everywhere.

Because Natasha and mister Barnes were unable to answer Wanda took it upon herself to answer her. “Mister Barnes and miss Romanoff just read something very funny from that document, while I came to hand you back these documents.”

“Were you able to fax them all?” Hope asked her eyebrow slightly raised.

“Yes I was,” Wanda nodded as she nervously fidgeted with the edges of her dress.

“That's good,” Hope said slightly dismissing Wanda. Wanda got down again and picked up all the papers she had dropped. She handed them all in a pile to Hope and gave her an apologetic smile.

Wanda walked out of the office feeling very embarrassed, as tears of frustration were about to spill any minute now.

* * *

  
When Natasha and mister Barnes had finally catched their breath Hope looked at them disapprovingly. “May I ask what all this was?” She gestured to their faces as mister Barnes was threatening to start to laugh again.

“Just--just,” mister Barnes started to laugh again and Natasha was about join in again.

“Miss Romanoff may I speak to you individually in my office?” Hope asked leading the way to her office.

Mister Barnes shook his head and walked to his private restroom. “So I assume you have no idea why mister Barnes called you up here,” Hope started as she took a seat behind her desk, gesturing Natasha to do the same.

“Uhm yes miss Van Dyne,” she answered biting the inside of her cheek as she remembered the note and Wanda's face again.

“Well to cut to the chase we as the Barnes.Co want you to represent our company as a transfer to Rogers.Intl,” Hole said and Natasha felt all the color slowly draining from her face.

“What?” She softly muttered confusedly.

“Yeah we want you to represent us as a company. Which means you'll work for six months at Rogers.Intl as their new head of I.T, while helping them out with their first phase of finding a cure for dementia.”

“Why me?”

“Because you are one of the best in your field, and during your absence your position will be filled by Arnim Zola.”

“What?” Natasha felt really dumb as the only question floating through her mind was what.

“Arnim Zola--” Natasha didn't really hear what Hope said as she only remembered that Arnim Zola was slightly smarter than she was and was fully capable of totally stealing her job away from her.

“What about the new Plum products?”

“They're in their final stages and Arnim will take it over from you as long as you say yes to this deal.”

There was a stare off as both women stared at each other intensively. “And why would I do that?”

“Because you wouldn't want mister Barnes’ name to be shamed by the media and our product being brought down. Now would you?”

What kind of tactic was this? Natasha felt confused as Hope kept on telling her about all the bad things that would happen if she didn't go to Rogers.Intl.

“Okay,” Natasha whispered defeatedly as Hope made her sign some papers, she would start from next week. It was already Friday and she had only two days to prepare.

Natasha walked out of the office defeatedly and joined Wanda in the coffee shop outside of the building as both women depressingly loomed over one coffee and one tea.

“Hey at least he's only slightly smarter than you!” Wanda smiled trying to brighten the mood around them.

“Well compared to you everybody is freaking Einstein!” Natasha laughed as she remembered the note once again.

“Ugh don't even joke about that, I literally felt my soul leave my body!” Wanda said covering her face with her hands making Natasha laugh harder. Slowly Wanda joined in as both friends laughed their hearts out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading please leave a comment and a kuddo!


	3. Short Notice

His breathing quickened as his feet took life of their own. He gave one last pull as he neared the exit line, he could hear Steve closely behind him. ‘Almost there,’ a tiny voice in his head whispered to him. 

 

He needed this as he started to slow down once he realized he had passed the starting point. He shook his head as he joined Steve by the old oak tree. They stood under it for a while trying to catch their breaths once again. 

 

“I totally beat you,” Bucky managed to say his lungs feeling like they were about to burst. 

 

“You sure did, only because I gave you a head start,” Steve teased a grin on his face as the sun slowly started to illuminate the park. 

 

“It's too early for this,”Bucky said starting to stretch his legs. “Wakes me up at five to go for a fucking jog,” he muttered under his breath. 

 

“I can't believe you just cursed for no reason,” Steve said joining in with the lounges. 

 

He felt a few drops and saw that Steve had felt them as well. “Great, it's going to rain.” The thing about James was that he despised the rain and the coldness it left behind, he had bad memories that included the rain. 

 

He slowly took his off his shirt and saw that Steve shook his head. “Just because there are people of the opposite sex here, doesn't mean that I have to see you undress every single time one looks at you.”

 

He laughed slightly,”Well I couldn't have you get jealous now, can I?” 

 

Steve rolled his eyes and looked like a suburban dad done with his children's shit. “I'm done with you.” 

 

“Oh honey I haven't even started yet,” Bucky dramatically winked as he saw from the corner of his eye a tall woman appear. Her long legs defined by the leggings she wore, a confident smile on her lips as she walked towards them. Long dark locks flying in the air as her eyes fixed on Bucky and Steve like a hungry predator ready to attack its prey. 

 

“That’s Sajani,” Steve whispered. “The rude one.”

 

Sajani approached rather quickly, as if she had heard what Steve had just said about her. “Mister Rogers, I was wondering when I could meet up with you again,” she smiled squinting her eyes and tilting her head, figuring out what Steve would say or do next. 

 

“Hello miss Jaffrey, I apologize for my absence recently, with the progress at the company I barely have any time to discuss future potential business partners,” Steve smiled trying to hide his discomfort something he was failing to do so. 

 

Bucky smiled as he saw Sajani's interest peak up at something Steve just had said he had caught her full attention. “You said progress... “

 

Steve nodded and Bucky slightly shook his head. His best friend just got himself in a big mess. 

 

“What kind of progress?” She asked her right eyebrow raised daring Steve to lie. 

 

Steve visibly swallowed looking at very unease, before he could make a bigger mess Bucky jumped into the conversation. “Progress he can’t discuss with you.”

 

“And I presume you are mister Barnes,” she said rudely. 

 

“And I presume you are right,” he flashed her a charming smile that made her roll her eyes. She walked away with a huff and few curses. “Wow isn't she just a ray of sunshine?” Bucky asked making Steve laugh aloud. 

 

Both men jogged back to Steve’s house teasing each other all the way back.

* * *

 

“Steven, Steven, Steven,” he heard a familiar voice say as he turned around and was greeted by a familiar brunette. “You can’t keep on doing this,  _ darling, _ ” she said shaking her head. 

 

“I can do what I want,” he responded feeling like a little child being scolded by his mother. 

 

“Not if it is you keep on hurting yourself,” she said softly as she got the first aid kit from the first drawer to her left. 

 

He looked at her guilt flashing all over his face,“I’m sorry…”

 

“-- sorry won’t heal you,” she sighed as she took his hand in hers and carefully wrapped it in gauze. “You need to do something for me Steve,” she looked in his eyes, and for a minute he forgot the world around him. Her brown eyes represented the warmth of a fire on a cozy winter night. 

 

“Anything,” he replied immediately. 

 

“Please do not--“ 

 

“Steve, where is your charger? My phone is almost dead,” Bucky asked as he came into the kitchen, dressed into one of his pajamas he had permanently left here.

 

Steve dumbly blinked as  _ she  _ had disappeared and was replaced with the image of his best friend eating a granola bar while searching for a charger in his kitchen cabinet. 

 

“It’s in the second drawer to your left,” he said absently still feeling the warmth from when she held his hand. 

 

“This is like my second home, but for some weird fucking reason I can never find the shit I need,” Bucky complained grabbing another granola bar before walking out of the kitchen to plug his phone in. 

 

“He has a point,” he heard  _ her  _ familiar voice say. He closed his eyes and for a mere minute he felt her lips on his. She was teasing him, like she always did. He had to be fast and catch her. He heard giggling in the distance as he ran through green fields that had started to sprout flowers. 

 

“Steve are you okay?” He heard Bucky’s voice laced with concern. Making him open his eyes and being greeted by the vision of his friend’s face in a frown. 

 

He scraped his throat and coughed a bit,“Yeah, I’m fine.”

 

“Well you don’t look fine,” Bucky started slowly as the rain outside made it hard for Steve to hear him. 

 

I am fine. “Bucky, I’m fine,” he sighed as he tiredly rubbed his eyes. “Just stressed with the new head sensors, we spent millions on them, if they can’t help us the company is doomed.” 

 

“Steve stop being so negative,” Bucky said putting his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “What happened to the positive you?” He smiled.

 

He died. “He became a CEO,” Steve laughed turning his head from Bucky so he couldn't see the pained expression on his face. Both men sat there in silence as a dark cloud loomed over them. Each i a world that felt like a lifetime ago.  

* * *

 

 

“Mister Barnes,” a deep voice brought Bucky back from his thoughts. He nodded giving the boy permission to continue on with what he was about to say. “Miss Van Dyne called in on line three, she says that it is an emergency.”

 

“Okay thank you,” Bucky said pressing the button to connect with line three. 

 

“Mister Barnes, I’m so sorry.” He knew right away that it was bad news from the way she started the conversation, she sounded a bit out of breath as he heard something like the beeping of a machine. “Listen Bucky I’m gonna cut to the chase and ask for a leave.” 

 

Bucky’s eyes widened as the beeping of the machine intensified. “May I ask why?” He asked trying to sound as politely as possible. 

 

“It’s a family emergency, something with my father that I’d rather not discuss. And I know it’s on a very very short notice, and it is kind of impossible but I need this favor  _ Bucky _ ,” Hope sounded kind of desperate as Bucky’s thoughts went three hundred miles a minute. 

 

He scraped his throat and contemplated it for a second, Hope deserved this he decided. “You can have your leave,” he said, hearing her relieved sigh from the other end of the phone. “Just a quick question do you have a replacement in your mind for your time on leave?” 

 

“Uhm...yes I have somebody in mind. However she isn't that qualified but she’ll do it on this short of a notice.” 

 

Bucky felt his heart drop, how was he supposed to present the new Winter collection without his secretary? “That’s alright,” he lied with ease. “When can I expect you back?” 

 

“In a month or six…” Hope’s voice trailed off as Bucky felt his eyes widen three times the size they already were. Before he could ask if she could cut it shorter he heard a lot of voice and Hope sounding as if she was breaking down before the phone was cut. 

 

He turned his chair so he could look out of the window and was greeted with the heavy rain. He sighed and put his face in his hands as he felt a lot of pressure on his shoulders. ‘And when would his new assistant come in?’ He thought irritatedly. 

* * *

 

Steve walked fast as he heard Scott’s heavy footsteps behind him. “I swear to god Cap, this project is gonna be the death of me and you.” 

 

“He is not wrong there,” a familiar voice called to him making him stop in his tracks. Causing Scott to bump into him quite hardly. 

 

“Au, that’s gonna leave a mark,” he heard the other man mutter under his breath. 

 

“I’m sorry Scott,” he apologized feeling bad already.  

 

“No problem, accidents happen Cap.” 

 

Both men continued on in silence to Steve’s office. They would be welcoming their new I.T head today. Her name was Natasha Romanoff. According to Bucky she was a tough nut to crack but would move heaven and hell for her friends. 

 

“Something you do as well  _ Steven _ .” Steve nodded his head slightly but continued on. His eyes fixed with determination, today he wouldn't hear anything. Today would be an okay day. 

 

‘Today is the day,’ he slowly acknowledged to himself. 

 

He opened the door to his office and saw somebody sitting opposite from his chair. He assumed it was miss Romanoff as the woman had fiery red hair, that seemed to sparkle like a ruby when the light hit it correctly. 

 

The clouds outside had slightly parted and a bit of sunlight came into his office creating a halo around her head. He turned his head towards Scott and nodded silently dismissing the other man. 

 

“Good morning miss Romanoff,” he said walking towards her with his hand outstretched as she got up to shake it.

 

“Good morning mister Rogers,” her silvery voice with an underlying rasp said. Steve had to admit she was really pretty. She had green eyes that would put any emerald to shame. Pink lips that had an undertone of red. And flawless skin, making her look like a porcelain doll. 

 

“Don’t judge a book by its cover Steve, we don’t all have the same story we portray.”

 

They sat down and he pulled out her file,“First off I would like to apologize on the short notice we gave you to move companies,” he started off. 

 

“It’s really no big deal mister Rogers, I’m happy wherever I can assist,”she smiled.

 

“I’m glad to hear that miss Romanoff,” he flashed her his charming puppy smile as Bucky calls it. “Now I don’t know if mister Barnes has given you any information on what we do at Rogers.Intl,” he said kind of feeling stupid for they way he started that conversation. 

 

She shook her head a bit,“I know you guys are a company that have medicine as your primary focus and that you are trying to find a cure for dementia.”

 

“You just described the facility quite well,” he smiled making her smile in return. “So I just wanted to go over what you’ll be doing and where you’ll be doing it.”

 

As the two talked about where and what the rainy weather disappeared clearing the sky for the sun. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for uploading this chapter so late, school was really hectic this week. And i know the story is kind of boring right now but trust me it will get better, or not it all depends on what kind of person you are. Please leave a kudo and a comment as they make me work faster and produce better quality chapters. Right now its slow burn but it will get better. Thanks for reading!


	4. Upgrading?

Wanda was angry, no screw that she was infuriated. As a receptionist her day offs were limited, not that she complained, she needed the money. However if you hadn’t had a day off in two weeks because somebody decided to get sick, you would be moody as well. And right now she was moody, prepared to kill anybody on her way, to the stupid company she worked for. To top that mountain her best friend wasn’t there to rant to. 

Today she was supposed to be enjoying her day off. She had planned it all out, wake up late and stay in. Eat an actual home cooked meal and visit the bookstore to get a new book. She was actually looking very forward to go to the bookstore. And now she wouldn’t get to go. 

Wanda huffed as she approached the office her sweats drenched from the bottom by the puddle she just walked into. She didn’t bother to change into her “formal wear” as this wasn’t supposed to take long.  She wore grey sweats with a pink panda hoodie, (it was a gift from Natasha). Her pink puma’s were wet causing her fuzzy socks to be drenched aswell, and making her mood ten times worse. Her hair was thrown into a messy bun. 

She sighed deeply as she entered the office making her way to the elevator only to be stopped by a random intern. Normally Wanda wouldn’t have had any problem, however today was not her day. 

“What do you want?” She asked tiredly closing her eyes for a second as she could feel the burning stares of people as they walked past her. 

The young man swallowed hard making his Adam’s apple bobble,“Miss Van Dyne told me to tell you that you have to go to mister Barnes’ office.”

She was about to walk away as he stopped her,“And you have to give him this,” he handed her a big yellow envelope,“and wait for further instructions.” 

She tiredly accepted it and headed to mister Barnes’ office. Cursing all the way up for not even trying to wear anything formal. When the elevator finally stopped she walked out with her head down, so that the less people could recognize her. 

She walked as fast as she could without breaking out into a sprint, as she saw the disgusting footsteps her shoes left behind. ‘Can I just jump out of the building already?’ She thought bitterly as she heard a few snickers here and there. 

She walked into mister Barnes office without giving any shits, as they had just called her in to deliver a stupid envelope, with god knows what inside. Only to be startled by a deep smooth voice that I unmistakably belonged to mister Barnes,“Can I help you?” 

He didn’t seem to recognize her, because obviously she looked like some crazy lady that had five cats and had just robbed a grocery store. “Sir, I came to deliver this envelope and wait for any other instruction,” she looked at her shoes as he hesitantly took the envelope from her.

* * *

Natasha had always known that she was one of the best in her fields, which made her come off as arrogant. She also knew that she strived to be better after some accidents she caused, because of wrong coding. 

She knew that she had trust issues and one of the main reason she never left her old job for something more exciting, was because she had made connections with the people surrounding her. 

Therefor arriving at Rogers.Intl was hard however mister Rogers had made it quite easier. She thought mister Barnes was a charmer, but oh mister Rogers was up there as well. 

He was polite and respectful, and treated her as an equal, just like mister Barnes did. She knew she shouldn’t compare the two as they’re basically the same, however there was something lingering around Steven Grant Rogers. 

Natasha did her research overnight, she even went as far to hack into the company's main research computer. She didn’t find anything interesting, but she did find thirteen random songs that were listed under a file,“TOP SECRET”. 

Natasha missed Wanda, even though her and Wanda worked on two different floors the women were somehow connected, maybe it was the way they dealt with emotions. Natasha digested them, while Wanda let them build up until they would explode. 

Natasha walked behind mister Rogers, trying to act like it wasn’t a biggie. Somehow mister Barnes walked slower, he seemed more considerate towards people with shorter legs than his. Unlike mister Rogers. 

However Steve Rogers looked like a golden retriever puppy, and Natasha could not resist puppies.

* * *

Wanda bit her bottom lip and looked from underneath her hood as she saw mister Barnes rolling his eyes? 

“So I guess you are miss Wanda Maximoff,” he started of slowly. “The same girl from Friday, if I remember correctly…”

A confused look jumped on Wanda’s features as she slowly nodded her head. She pushed the hood of her head,“I’m not trying to be rude mister Barnes, but may I ask why I’m here?” She asked softly. 

“I assume miss Van Dyne hasn’t brought you up to speed yet.” She nodded once again as he slowly licked his lips. “You’re being promoted…”

Wanda slightly tilted her head to the side making a few wet stringy strands fall into her eyes. “—To my temporary secretary.” Wanda gasped as mr.Barnes finished his sentence. “Effective immediately.” 

Jumping out of the building never looked this tempting. She closed her eyes, so many questions were going through her mind however one was trumping them all,“Why me?”

“I have no idea but I guess miss Van Dyne deemed you appropriate for the job,” mister Barnes kindly smiled at her. He handed her a heavy folder,“Could you please make five copies of this and send them to the companies part of MARVEL.” 

“Sure.”

* * *

Natasha had absolutely no idea how her new boss had made running a medical company sound so patriotic. Her new boss definitely loved his country as he spoke very highly of it. She also noticed the way he was serious about everything and the way his assistant called him Cap. 

‘What did Cap stand for? Was at an abbreviation for Cool Alien Prince? Or did it stand short for something like Caprisun, Captivating, Capa Sorority Sister?’ She had absolutely no idea and no interest in asking. 

Mister Barnes used to throw smiles everywhere and charm his ways into knowing what was happening within his company, mister Rogers didn’t do any of that. He just cared if the work got done by hard work instead of short cuts.  

Natasha was intrigued by mister Rogers, he wasn’t caught up in any scandals. He was very private and did almost no interviews. He had this sense of righteousness that was the polar opposite to Natasha’s sense of what was right and wrong.

If she could be honest Natasha usually saw a blurred line and choose whatever would benefit her. She was cunning and quick, me before you, had been her motto for long before some people came along and made her change into something else. 

Her blurred line was in a grey area that would bend to her will. Natasha slowly halted as mister Rogers stopped in front of her office. “I’ll let you get settled in,” he held the door open for her. She entered and he slowly closed the door behind her, like the gentleman he was.

Steven Grant Rogers was on Natasha’s radar and she had no interest of getting him of from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not uploading in like weeks, however school has been weighing me down as midterms are coming up and I've been studying 24/7. I also like to apologize for this boring chapter, besides school I'm suffering of writer's block as I lost my plan out sheet. And lastly I'm so sorry for this being unedited, I really did try my best just bare with me guys. 
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me!!


	5. Reminders of the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not edit this

Bucky absolutely absolutely hated that Hope had a family emergency right before the launch of the products. He also hated how his new assistant had never been a secretary to somebody, although he didn’t hold that against her, she tried. 

He missed his daily banters with Hope, him and miss Maximoff weren’t close enough to argument about something yet. Although it had been already two weeks since she had been working for him. 

Things were rather awkward between the two, as if they had a bad hookup. It might be because he had made absolutely zero progress with her. She was silent and reserved on rare occasions he saw her smile. 

He had tried to strike up a friendly conversation but it ways ended very awkwardly. Just once he was lucky enough to find out that Wanda was actually a be energetic girl. He heard her talking to Natasha on the phone and well he heard some words leaving Wanda’s mouth, he was surprised she even knew them. 

“Mister Barnes? Mister Barnes?” He heard the familiar voice of his temporary secretary call him. 

“Pardon?” He dumbly asked as she raised an eyebrow a smile threatening to reveal itself in her soft features. 

She seemed to choke on something before fully bursting into laughter. Bucky looked up in surprise as he saw the way she tried and miserably failed to cover her mouth with her hand. He raised an eyebrow and saw Wanda laughing even harder. He slightly tilted his head to the right as he saw that that made Wanda laugh even harder. 

“Miss Maximoff are you okay?” He asked concerned as Wanda slowly stopped laughing. 

She inhaled deeply but even then a few giggles managed to escape. She turned around and softly spoke while hiccuping,“mister Barnes, there is something on the wa—” before Wanda could finish her sentence she started to laugh again. 

Bucky slowly turned around and was greeted with a picture that had scarred him for life. It was a picture of Bucky getting hit in a place where the sun does not shine by a young kid with red hair, from all the reminders of the past this was the worst one to be framed. 

Bucky looked at Wanda as she tried really hard to contain her laughters, however she failed miserably. 

* * *

Steve could feel her stare him down. She slowly licked her lips and made her way over to him. Natasha Romanoff, the newest addition to the company, she was a genius no denying that. However the women was more than she portrayed herself to be, Steve had seen the way she changed herself depending on who was in her company. She seemed like a predator closing in on her prey, ready to attack if needed. 

“She reminds me of a spider, Steve,” he heard the familiar soft voice say as he turned to look. She was wearing her army uniform today, her curls framed her face as her helmet was strapped on. She walked over to him, her back straight with confident strides. Her dog tags were glinsting in the afternoon sun as Steve felt the room spin around. 

__  
The sun was high in the sky, the wind softly carrying the sand with it. “In another life I would have asked you if I could have taken you out dancing,” Steve saw himself say to her. He was young, dumb and in love back then.   


__  
“In that life I would have said yes,” she had said as softly as ever almost as if she was shying away from him. “But--”  


__  
He looked at her eyes widened afraid he had ruined it all, she seemed to feel his distress as she softly intertwined their hands together. “We could make it work in this life, if you ask me to dance,” she looked up at him her brown eyes staring deeply into his blue ones. “I will say yes,” she ghosted over his lips.   


“Sir?” he heard somebody call out to him. He turned around and was met with emerald green eyes. “Are you alright?” 

Natasha. “I’m fine, thanks for asking miss Romanoff. Did you need something?” 

She tilted her head to the side, slightly squinting her eyes. She slowly licked her lips almost as if she was contemplating what to say to him. Steve raised an eyebrow as a smile broke out on her face. “Yes as a matter of fact I did. I noticed that the deadlines for the new blueprints were pushed a week back.” 

“Yes they were miss Romanoff,” Steve started slowly feeling confused as this decision was made days ago. 

She nodded her head thoughtfully,“I need those blueprints to get started.”

“I’m sorry miss Romanoff but I can’t help you with that, we made a decision as a board and nobody objected against it, if I remember correctly neither did you,” Steve knew he did not have to bring up her decision to vote against the plan to give the drafting departement another week.   

She raised her eyebrow and Steve knew he made a mistake as she gave him a smirk. “At the moment I felt no obligations against the extra week, however know that the I.T department is done with the coding we need the blueprints to start assembling parts. Three days ago my departement had already accomplished eighty-two percent of the coding, it has been two days and the I.T department at  Rogers.Intl has finished everything you gave us--”

Before she could finish Steve cut her off carefully,“Miss Romanoff you and your team have done an excellent job with finishing up early, therefore I think it is only appropriate if you departement gets the donuts of their choice from Dunkin Donuts.” 

“That does seem appropriate.”

“If you can discuss this with your department it would help immensely, and please send somebody with everybody’s orders to my assistant.” 

“Will do.” 

Steve nodded before heading towards the elevator he had a meeting with Tony Stark today, another headache to prepare for. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so so sorry for not uploading and or replying to comments. I was stomped in school work and my email was doing weird so I did not get any notifications when i received a comment, so I thought nobody read it and i was like they won't miss it if I don't upload anymore chapters, I am so sorry once again.


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